Hello from Wisconsin

Hello! I've been on the lookout for a reasonably priced truck for what seems like forever in this crazy used vehicle market. My wife found this Tundra through her employer at one of their locations. The truck hadn't been used for a couple of years, but was meticulously maintained and has all service records. It's a very clean 1 owner (now 2) with just over 82k miles. After a thorough inspection we found it only needed a couple sway bar end-links and a new serpentine belt. Very fortunate to have found this truck!

 

Welcome from NY.

 

Welcome from Western NC. Nice truck. Reminds me of my 05 Tundra I had for 13 years.

 

Welcome from Nevada

 

Welcome from LA (Lower Alabama)! Beautiful classic!

 

Welcome and greetings from Minnesota. Good find up here in the land of rust-a-plenty. Congrats.

 

Welcome

 

As someone who owns Two first gens, and have been here for purt-near 10,000 posts...

The timing belt needs to be at the TOP of your priorities regarding this truck. The 4.7L V8 2UZ-FE engine is an INTERFERENCE engine. If the timing belt breaks... you're looking at buying a crate engine to replace as it would be cheaper than a full tear down, and repair.

Made myself clear?

Anyways, toyota recommends changing the timing belt every 90,000 miles, or every 7(?) Years.

I always get foggy on the time they put on it. Either way, you're due, and are risking ruining your truck, and turning it into a big ole paperweight.

Here was my 22 year old belt, at 282,000 miles... I was driving on borrowed time....


There are two cam covers on the top left/right of the engine that you can peel back with 10mm bolts to look at the timing belt as shown below. I unfortunately don't have any pictures of the bolts...



Here's what a timing belt is SUPPOSED to look like. The markings on my brand new belt probably won't be there on yours.

 

9yr/90k for the 2UZ, I believe. But really no reason you can't go 10yr/100k *IF* previous change used OEM parts.

Welcome! Bookmark the 1st Gen forum so you always land there: https://www.tundras.com/forums/1st-gen-tundras-2000-2006.2/

Always love to see new members. As a fellow owner of a a white access cab '06 Limited I bought with a little over 60k miles several years ago, I'll also issue some warnings.

If you're up north where roads are salted as that Landmark tank may suggest, you really, genuinely need to inspect every inch of the frame, carefully. Especially where the "X" shaped crossmember above the spare tire meets the framerails, roundabout where the leaf spring mounts meet the frame, and inside the framerail near the back of the cab where they installed frame stiffeners.

If it won't be consistently garaged, consider sealing up one specific cowl fastener over the fresh air intake vent which'll saturate the passenger floorboard, this thread covers many of the leak sources which have happened to one or more member (see the video at the end of 1st post for sample of this leak): https://www.tundras.com/threads/definitive-2000-2006-cab-area-rain-water-leak-thread.70464/

Don't think because you got a low-mile truck it's somehow better. Miles as low as yours and mine at this age suggest either a total lack of use, frequent short trips, or both. Lack of use will result in dry and cracked gasket, thus leaks, especially the valve covers. Lots of short trip driving leads to nasty stuff, like THIS is what my head looked like, you don't want to see the valve covers before I cleaned them thoroughly, looks like someone dumped BBQ inside and grilled for an hour. I got paper records of the previous owner's oil changes at a Jiffy lube type place, based on mileage vs. time, but it wasn't necessarily a lack of oil changes.

Last but not least, stick with OEM parts when possible. This will help you get OEM parts at a discount. Avoid scAmazon, fleaBay, and WallyMart's online shops like the plague, several members here and elsewhere have gotten very-well-faked counterfeit parts at these vendors. Oh, and if you ever need to do your ball joints DON'T BUY ANYTHING EXCEPT OEM LOWER BALL JOINTS. Aftermarket balljoints tend to fail, catastrophically, and have taken out more trucks than I can count.

 

Welcome from Illinois. We go to WI regularly to ride side X sides. And congrats on the 1st gen truck. Good buy.

 

Welcome, fellow 1st gen!